Child's Touch
by D-chan
Summary: mild language, preGensomaden, mild hinted shounen ai, fluff :: On a cool foggy evening, Sanzo returns to his room. The first surprise was seeing Goku. The second was Goku's reaction to his scars.


**:: Child's Touch ::**

_Gensomaden__ Saiyuki_

Disclaimer: I don't own Gensomaden Saiyuki, which rightfully belongs to Minekura Kazuya.

Rating: PG

Pairing: none, but one can interpret Sanzo/Goku if they wish

Warnings: mild language, pre-Gensomaden, mild hinted shounen ai, fluff

Notes: Another short one-shot. This one is… um… a lot shorter than the last. It was an idea Nikki gave me while we were talking about the various scars all the boys have (sans Goku). So… thank her for this fic. (She inspires a lot of fics, doesn't she?)

Constructive criticism and feedback appreciated. Thank you.

* * *

It felt redundant to bathe when it was so foggy out. There was no rain, thankfully, but it was cold and damp every time he stepped outside. Dew would cling not only to the grass, but his robes and sandals as he walked out to the empty bath house. No other monks around; they must have been asleep, like a normal person would be after a full day of chores and work.

Sanzo, however, felt stiff and sore. Not from his normal duties, assuredly. No, all this tension came from a certain little brat that insisted on wearing his already thin patience. A hot bath would at least ease his tense muscles; though Sanzo knew what he really needed was a massage. He remembered his late master occasionally doing that for him before he died, especially after a hard day's martial arts session.

He shook his head, not wanting to think about that now. The water was hot, almost too hot for him to stand, but at least he was relaxing a bit. Really, sometimes all he _really_ needed was for that brat to just shut up and not cause trouble.

But then, Goku wouldn't be Goku if he didn't attempt to cause Sanzo an aneurism at least twice a day.

Sanzo twitched slightly, deciding he didn't need to think about _that_ right now, either. All he wanted was a relaxing bath, and damn it, he was going to enjoy it while he could.

For a while he managed to make his mind blissfully blank, focusing only on washing himself, then just leaning against the side of the bath and staring at the wall. He thought of nothing until he realized the heat was gradually seeping out of the water. He got out before it became too cold.

Sanzo took his time drying himself off. In his haste to get away from Goku and to the bath, he hadn't brought anything but a change of pants with him. He regretted that now, because that meant he'd have to go back to his room and be cold until he got the rest of his clothes.

Damn the monkey.

Grumbling to himself, Sanzo made quick work with his hair, toweling it, pushing the rest of the strands from his eyes before he left. It was still chilly outside, and he wasn't as tense as he had been earlier... but that didn't mean he was completely relaxed, either.

And he would still have to put up with the boy for dinner. Grimacing at the thought, Sanzo quickened his footsteps back to his room.

He hadn't counted on Goku being there when he got back. Goku actually had his own room; it was a small place just across the hall from his own, and would have made better use for a broom closet. The boy was hardly ever in there except to sleep... and even then, he wasn't there that often. Sanzo would find Goku curled up on his floor some mornings, blissfully asleep even if it was freezing cold. Usually he gave Goku a good kick for that.

Goku was at his window, peering outside when he slid the door open. He looked up when he heard the man, grinning. "Hi, Sanzo," he said cheerfully. "You done taking a bath? Is it my turn?"

Rolling his eyes, Sanzo tossed the towel on his bed. "Moron. You don't have to wait turns here."

"You wait turns," Goku pointed out. "Because you hate sharing the bath with the other idiots here. You said so yourself!"

"That included you, too, you know," Sanzo replied, annoyed.

The boy gave him a slight pout, looking sulky. "Well, I don't try to take a bath with you," he muttered, looking outside again.

Scoffing, Sanzo turned to find a shirt. For some reason the silence seemed to change, though he couldn't place why. He had just picked up one of his typical black tops before a sudden touch on his back made him stiffen automatically.

He didn't turn just yet. "What the hell are you doing, monkey?"

The fingers trailed over a short distance on his back, then moved to make another short trail. "You got a lot of scars," the boy said softly. "Here... and here... and here..."

Sanzo jerked back, narrowing his eyes at his charge. "What business is it of yours?" He honestly didn't even know the kid that well; he'd only "rescued" him from Gogyo Mountain a couple months ago. Already Goku acted so friendly with him-- he had since day one.

Already Goku was prone to touching him. For some reason he could get away with it where others couldn't. Sanzo couldn't explain why; he simply knew that he hated to be touched, but Goku's touch didn't give him those small shudders of revulsion.

The boy didn't look up at first, his eyes fixated on Sanzo's midsection. He finally, slowly looked up, his wide, childish eyes unusually solemn. "Did they hurt?"

What a stupid question. "Probably," Sanzo said flatly, taking a step away from the boy before pulling his skin-tight black top on over his head. "I don't remember."

Goku waited until he was done, but when Sanzo moved to grab his robes he quickly grasped the man's arms, tugging him toward the bed. "I'll make them better," he said simply.

Sanzo gave him an incredulous look, one that quickly changed to disgust. "Didn't I just tell you they don't hurt?"

"No," Goku replied, using surprising strength to pull Sanzo to the bed then moved his legs to trip Sanzo. He stumbled and fell on the bed. Sanzo pushed himself up on his hands quickly, but Goku stubbornly kept trying to push him down. "You gotta lie down or I can't make it better," he insisted.

Sanzo snarled softly. "I just told you twice: they don't hurt. Stop it!"

Goku frowned, his cheeks puffed in childish frustration. Then, without warning, he tackled the man. Taken by surprise, Sanzo could only make a muffled yelp as Goku succeeded in pinning him to the mattress, wrists by his head and legs straddling his keeper's waist.

"I'm not gonna get off until you let me," he said firmly, golden eyes narrowed. "And I won't do anythin' stupid, Sanzo! Just let me fix it."

"What you're doing right _now_ is stupid," Sanzo snapped.

Goku was unmoved. "Turn over on your tummy."

It was more of a demand than a request, which only irked Sanzo further. He scowled, matching Goku's stare. He wouldn't lose the staring contest; he never had. Goku simply didn't have the patience to win.

And once again, he couldn't. The boy finally squirmed, practically jumping on Sanzo and making him even more uncomfortable. "Just turn over, Sanzoooo," he complained. "I'll stop if you don't like it! I promise!"

That only made it sound worse. Sanzo's eyebrow twitched, but he found himself doing as told anyway, silently swearing to beat the idiot later. He stiffened when Goku slid his hands under the man's shirt, but let the boy remove the item.

Goku seemed happy now that he'd won. He raised himself enough for Sanzo to turn over, but made himself comfortable straddling the man again. Sanzo shifted a bit, glancing over his shoulder to glare at the boy.

Then Goku's hands were on his back, small but firmer than most boys', like a fighter's. He began to rub Sanzo's back firmly, and Sanzo realized he was paying special attention to the areas he was now scarred in.

At this point it simply felt nice enough for Sanzo not to complain. Instead, he found his eyes lapsing shut. Goku's hands grew stronger, kneading into his muscles. It was especially nice when the boy moved up to his shoulders, working out the knotted tension there.

However, once Sanzo's shoulders went lax, Goku moved his hands down his back again. He would pause at times, just resting his fingers on the scars. After a few blessedly silent minutes of this treatment the boy finally spoke, his voice hushed as though not wanting to ruin the mood. "They don't hurt anymore, right?"

"Didn't in the first place," Sanzo said, his voice muffled against his arms. Not once did his eyes open; he was dimly aware he was enjoying the treatment far too much, but...

"Mm," Goku replied, still rubbing the man's back. "I don't got any scars... guess I was just wonderin' if they still hurt after they heal."

Sanzo only shook his head, wishing Goku would shut up and continue what he was doing.

Goku didn't seem content doing that; his touch lightened, fingers finding each scar on Sanzo's back. "Hey, Sanzo?"

"What, monkey?" he asked, his voice coming out a bit more annoyed.

"Don't get hurt anymore. This... um..." Rolling his eyes, Sanzo lifted his head to look back at the boy, who made quick motions in the air as though he were still rubbing Sanzo's shoulders. "Um..."

"Massaging," he said flatly.

"Yeah. It hurts my hands," Goku said, sliding off him. "So don't get anymore scars, okay?" Without waiting for an answer -- and honestly, Sanzo wasn't sure how to reply to that -- Goku smiled widely. "I'm gonna take my bath now," he said unnecessarily before scampering out of the room.

Unsure whether to be annoyed that Goku kept talking or over his stopping just when Sanzo was relaxing, the blonde rolled over on his back. He idly brushed stray hair from his eyes, staring lazily at the ceiling for a few minutes. When he finally felt like moving it was only to retrieve his shirt and lie back down again.

"Stupid monkey," he muttered, closing his eyes again. Goku must have done a better job than he'd realized, or Sanzo must have been more tired than he'd thought, because he drifted off almost immediately.

* * *

He fidgeted anxiously, glancing through the tiny crack of the doorway. For the longest time it seemed like Sanzo would never go to sleep, but he finally did. He breathed a soft sigh of relief, glad that the man was finally sleeping. Sometimes he thought Sanzo's crankiness was due to lack of sleep.

_At least they won't hurt him anymore,_ he thought, grinning to himself. He wasn't sure where he'd gotten the idea from that scars left over were supposed to hurt, but he did know that the cure to that was supposed to be nice, gentle rubbing. Whether any of it was true or not, it seemed to have had a good effect on Sanzo. So that made it all worth it.

Making sure the door was shut tightly, Goku hurried off to take his bath.


End file.
